Methods and apparatus for feeding, weighing, and collecting solid food products with sticky coatings

ABSTRACT

A multihead weigher with a collector for feeding, weighing and collecting solid food products with a sticky coating. The multihead weigher has a number of receptacles for weighing the solid food products and discharging the solid food product to the collector. Each receptacle having a scraper for scraping the surface of the receptacle when the solid food product is being discharged from the receptacle into the collector.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/609,933, filed Oct. 31, 2019, which is the national phase entry,under 35 U.S.C. Section 371(c), of International Application No.PCT/EP2018/060801, filed Apr. 26, 2018, claiming priority from EuropeanPatent Application No. 17169086.0, filed May 2, 2017. The disclosure ofeach patent application identified above is incorporated here byreference in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND

The present specification relates to methods and systems tor weighingand collecting solid food products with sticky coatings.

Within industries such as the foodstuff industry, weighing systems havebeen described in publications such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,015,049,WO9849892, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,526,437, 4,569,434, EP0909601, andWO12104404 all of which publications are hereby incorporated in thepresent specification by reference.

In the foodstuff industry, there is a need for sorting products orarticles at high speeds or throughputs according to various physicalcharacteristics such as size, colour or weight, alternatively by anycombination of these.

Industrially packed solid food products, such as pieces or poultry, areoften packed in packages of approximately equal weight—independent ofthe number of pieces included in the package. Therefore, many packagesof solid food products include more than one individual product, i.e.the packages normally include at least two solid food products. Someproduct packages, such as packages of chicken breast, typically includethree pieces in each package, however, the number may be greater such asfour or five pieces within the same package, as long as the packages allhave approximately the same weight.

In order to ensure that food products of varying weight may be combinedin packages having approximately the same weight, a multihead weighermay be used.

An example of a solid food product (as opposed to liquid) is a piece ofpoultry, and an example of a sticky coating is a marinade. The marinadehas a tendency to stick or adhere to walls of the multihead weigher,which can introduce weighing errors, which in the end can cause packagesto have a smaller weight of solid food product than advertised on apackage label.

SUMMARY

It is an object to provide techniques for weighing, collecting anddischarging solid food products with sticky coatings.

The above object and advantages together with numerous other objects andadvantages, which will be evident from the description, are according toa first aspect obtained by:

A method of feeding and weighing a solid food product with a stickycoating, said method comprising:

providing a pool hopper, said pool hopper including

an inlet end for receiving said solid food product,

an outlet end for discharging said solid food product,

a feeder for conveying said solid food product from said inlet end tosaid outlet end,

introducing said solid food product into said inlet end,

conveying by means of said feeder said food products in a direction fromsaid inlet end towards said outlet end,

providing a receptacle for weighing said solid food product, and areceptacle support for supporting said receptacle, said receptacle beinglocated below said outlet end, said receptacle including

a first end wall and a second end wall opposite said first end wall,

a first axis extending through said first end wall and said second endwall,

a receptacle wall between said first end wall and said second end wall,

said receptacle wall having an inner surface constituting a circularcylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coinciding with saidfirst axis,

said inner surface extending angularly around said first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over a first angle, said first angle beingmore than 150° and less than 180°,

said receptacle further including an opening between said first edge andsaid second edge for receiving said solid food product when dischargedfrom said outlet end,

said receptacle being rotatably mounted to said receptacle support forrotating around said first axis,

in a first operational mode discharging said solid food product fromsaid outlet end into said receptacle and weighing said solid foodproduct, said opening facing upwards in said first operational mode,

providing a scraper for scraping said inner surface,

said scraper having a scraper edge contacting said inner surface,

said scraper edge being proximate said first edge and stationary whensaid receptacle rotates around said first axis,

in a second operational mode rotating said receptacle such that saidsecond edge being rotated to said scraper edge while scraping said innersurface, and said solid food product being discharged from saidreceptacle.

According to a second aspect of the present specification, the aboveobjects and advantages are obtained by:

A weigher head for feeding and weighing a solid food product with asticky coating, said weigher head comprising:

a pool hopper, said pool hopper including

an inlet end for receiving said solid food product,

an outlet end for discharging said solid food product,

a feeder for conveying said solid food product from said inlet end tosaid outlet end,

said weigher head comprising

a receptacle for weighing said solid food product, and a receptaclesupport for supporting said receptacle, said receptacle being locatedbelow said outlet end,

said receptacle including

a first end wall, and a second end wall opposite said first end wall,

a first axis extending through said first end wall and said second endwall,

a bottom wall between said first end wall and said second end wall,

said bottom wall having an inner surface constituting a circularcylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coinciding with saidfirst axis,

said inner surface extending angularly around said first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over a first angle, said first angle beingmore than 150° and less than 180°,

said receptacle further including an opening between said first edge andsaid second edge for receiving said solid food product when dischargedfrom said outlet end,

said receptacle being rotatably mounted to said receptacle support forrotating around said first axis,

said receptacle further including

a scraper for scraping said inner surface,

said scraper having a scraper edge contacting said inner surface,

said scraper edge being proximate said first edge and stationary whensaid receptacle rotates around said first axis,

said weigher head further comprising

an actuator for rotating said receptacle in an angular direction suchthat said second edge being

rotated to said scraper edge, and said solid food product beingdischarged from said receptacle.

The first angle may be in alternative intervals such as between 160° and180° or 170° and 180°, or 175° and 180°, or 150° and 175°, or 150° and170° or 160° and 175°.

According to a third aspect of the present specification, the aboveobjects and advantages are obtained by:

A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatings receivedfrom a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solid foodproducts, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

-   -   in a first operational mode receiving said solid food products        in said annularly shaped compartment from said multihead        weigher,    -   in a second operational mode, scraping said annularly shaped        compartment by means of said first scraper in said angular        direction thereby collecting said received solid food products        into a first batch, and

introducing said first batch into said discharge compartment,

-   -   in a third operational mode scraping said discharge compartment        by means of said piston in said radial direction and discharging        said first batch through said discharge opening.

According to a fourth aspect of the present specification, the aboveobjects and advantages are obtained by:

A collector for collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said collector comprising:

an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facing upwards forreceiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall, said collector further comprising

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shaped compartmentfor scraping said annularly shaped compartment and collecting saidreceived solid food products into a first batch, and introducing saidfirst batch into said discharge compartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment havinga discharge opening,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment for scraping saiddischarge compartment and discharging said first batch through saiddischarge opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above aspects will now be explained in more detail below by means ofexamples of embodiments with reference to the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a perspective of a multihead weigher.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up perspective of a receptacle.

FIGS. 3 a-c show perspectives of a receptacle in three differentpositions.

FIG. 4 a shows a perspective of a collector.

FIG. 4 b shows a perspective of a collector.

FIG. 4 c shows a perspective of a collector.

FIG. 4 d shows a perspective of the collector shown in FIG. 4 c in anoperational mode constituting a collection mode.

FIG. 4 e shows a perspective of the collector shown in FIG. 4 c in anoperational mode constituting a discharging mode.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The aspects may be embodied in different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete and will fully convey the scope of the specification to thoseskilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout. Like elements will thus not be described in detail withrespect to the description of each figure.

FIG. 1 shows a perspective of a multihead weigher 10.

The multihead weigher comprises a receiving section 12. The receivingsection has a shape of a cone with an apex facing upwards for receivingsolid food products being delivered from above the receiving section.

During operation of the multihead weigher, the solid food products aretypically distributed randomly on the receiving section as they arereceived from above, and will due to gravity and the conical shape ofthe receiving section slide down towards a periphery of the receivingsection at a bottom end of the receiving section.

The receiving section may optionally be rotating or vibrating in orderto distribute the food products more evenly along the periphery of thereceiving section and for avoiding any food products remaining for alonger time on the receiving section.

Around the periphery of the receiving section is located sixteen poolhoppers (feeder conveyors) along a ring and surrounding the receivingsection up to 360° notwithstanding any abruptions such as parts of aframe system for supporting conveyor structures used in connection withthe multihead weigher.

Each pool hopper comprises a feeding channel, in which a feeder 16 islocated. The feeder is a screw conveyor in the form of a helicallyshaped hollow rod. The distance between two turns typically correspondsto the size of the solid food product to be conveyed, e.g. about 0.1 min case of a chicken breast. The feeding channel extends from an inletend 14 located adjacent the periphery of the receiving section to anoutlet end 18 located opposite the inlet end.

Solid food products entering the receiving section will be randomlydistributed among the pool hoppers.

As a solid food product enters the inlet end of one of the pool hoppersit is carried along the feeding channel by the screw conveyor towardsthe outlet end, and discharged to a weighing hopper constituting areceptacle 20 below the outlet end.

The multihead weigher comprises one receptacle for each pool hopper.Together a pool hopper and a receptacle constitute a weighing head.Thus, there are sixteen receptacles (up to nine receptacles can be seenin the perspective of the multihead weigher shown in FIG. 1 ). Thereceptacles are placed along a ring in a plane below the sixteen poolhoppers.

An individual receptacle is described more closely in relation to FIG. 2.

Further below the plane, in which the receptacles are located, is acollector, which may be one of the four different collectors describedmore closely in relation to FIGS. 4 a -e.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up perspective of a receptacle 20.

The receptacle is supported by a receptacle support.

The receptacle has a shape similar to a hollow semi cylinder, i.e. it isdefined by a first end wall 22, and a second end wall 24, which isopposite the first end wall.

A first axis 36 extends through the first end wall and the second endwall.

Between the first end wall and the second end wall is a receptacle wall26, i.e. the receptacle wall 26 has an inner surface constituting asemi-circular cylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coincidingwith the first axis.

The inner surface extends angularly around the first axis from a firstedge 32 to a second edge 34 over a first angle ϕ, the first angle being170° (or approximately 170° such as 179° or 178° or 177° or within170°±9° or 170°±8° 170°±7° 170°±6° or 170°±5°. This means that thereceptacle is open, i.e. a solid food product can fall down into thereceptacle in a receptacle opening between the first edge and the secondedge. Thus, as a solid food product is discharged from the outlet end ofa pool hopper it falls down into the receptacle located below the outletend of the respective receptacle due to gravity.

The receptacle is oriented such that the first axis is parallel orsubstantially parallel to a feeding channel—each feeding channel of apool hopper having a second axis extending through the inlet end and theoutlet end. Alternatively, the receptacle may be oriented such that thefirst axis is orthogonal to the second axis.

The receptacle is rotatably mounted to the receptacle support such thatit can rotate around the first axis.

The rotation and orientation of the receptacle as well as thedischarging of a solid food product from a pool hopper are controlledsuch that the opening faces upwards when a solid food product isdischarged from a pool hopper.

As a solid food product has been discharged to a receptacle, the weightof the solid food product is determined. If a number of receptacles havesolid food products, which have a combined weight suitable for beingbatched together and packaged in a package with a certain target weight,the respective receptacles rotate upside down so that the solid foodproducts fall out and down into a collector, which is located below thereceptacles. Different collectors are described more closely in relationto FIGS. 4 a -e.

The multihead weigher is to operate with solid food products with stickycoatings, which may adhere to the inner surface and possibly to thefirst end wall and second end wall. As a receptacle is emptied, part ofthe sticky coating may be left in the receptacle. This may introduce anerror when weighing a successive solid food product. The error mayincrease with the number of solid food products having been handled bythe multihead weigher. To avoid this, inside the receptacle is provideda scraper for scraping the interior of the receptacle as the receptacleis emptied.

The scraper has a scraper edge, which contacts the inner surface. Thescraper edge is proximate said first edge, i.e. the scraper edge is lessthan 10° from the first edge.

The scraper is U-shaped so that a base of the scraper scrapes the innersurface, a first leg of the scraper scrapes an inner side of the firstend wall, and a second leg of the scraper scrapes an inner side of thesecond end wall.

The scraper is supported by a scraper support, and is stationary whenthe receptacle rotates around the first axis.

The receptacle is connected to an actuator, which rotates the receptaclesuch that the inner surface moves along the scraper until the secondedge reaches the scraper edge, in which the receptacle has rotated 170°minus the angle that the scraper edge is away from the first edge (lessthan 10°).

As the receptacle has been emptied, it is rotated back in an oppositedirection so that it is ready to receive a successive solid foodproduct. Alternatively, the receptacle may continue the rotation androtate all the way round so that it is ready to receive a successivesolid food product.

FIG. 3 a-c show perspectives of a receptacle 20 in three differentpositions.

In FIG. 3 a , the receptacle faces upwards, i.e. the receptacle openingis facing upwards and a solid food product 54 is in the receptacle. Across-section of the receptacle with a normal parallel to the first axiswill show the receptacle being convex (in a normal rectangularxy-coordinate system with the x-axis being horizontal and the y-axisbeing vertical). The receptacle can be said to be in a first operationalmode/state constituting a receiving mode when the receptacle has theposition shown in FIG. 3 a.

In FIG. 3 b , the receptacle has rotated approximately 30°, i.e. thesecond edge has been moved closer to the scraper edge compared to theposition in the receiving mode, and the first edge has been movedfurther away from the scraper edge compared to the position in thereceiving mode. The receptacle can be said to have entered into a secondoperational mode/state constituting a discharging mode when thereceptacle has the position shown in FIG. 3 b.

In FIG. 3 c , the receptacle has rotated such that it more or less facesupside down, i.e. with the receptacle opening facing downwards. Across-section of the receptacle with a normal parallel to the first axiswill show the receptacle being concave. The second edge has been movedall the way to meet the scraper edge. In this way, the area of the innersurface between the line (where the scraper edge contacts the innersurface in the first operational mode) and the second edge has beenscraped.

Due to a combination of gravity and the solid food product being pushedby the receptacle scraper, the solid food product will be dischargedfrom the receptacle.

As the receptacle has been emptied, it rotates back to the position ithas in the first operational mode described in connection with FIG. 3 a.

The receptacle cycles between the first operational mode and the secondoperational mode as successive solid food products are being dischargedfrom the outlet end of the feeder head above the respective receptacle.

FIG. 4 a shows a perspective of a collector 40 for collecting solid foodproducts 54 with sticky coatings and discharging the collected solidfood products.

As mentioned in connection with FIG. 1 , the collector is located belowa multihead weigher, which may be such a multihead weigher described inconnection with FIG. 1 . The multihead weigher is not shown in FIG. 4 a.

The collector is formed as an annularly shaped compartment with a firstopening facing upwards for receiving the solid food products, which aredischarged from receptacles located above the annularly shapedcompartment.

The number of discharged solid food products depends on the weight ofindividual solid food products and a target weight of a package, whichthe number of solid food products are to be batched and packaged in,i.e. a target weight may range between 100 g and 10 kg for example. InFIG. 4 a , two solid food products have been discharged into thecollector.

The annularly shaped compartment has a center, which coincides with avertical axis that also goes through a center of the multihead weigher,i.e. the centers are along a common vertical axis at different heights.

The first opening is delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall 42. The bottom wall has the shape of acircle, but it may have an annular shape (ring-shaped). The twoconcentric side walls are constituted by an inner wall 44 and an outerwall 46.

The radial distance between the inner wall and the outer wall (the widthof the compartment) is greater than the distance between the first endwall 22 and the second end wall 24 so that the solid food products donot fall outside the collector as they are discharged from the feedingand weighing system.

The collector has a first scraper 48, which can move/rotate in anangular direction in the annularly shaped compartment.

The collector also has a partition wall 52, and a second opening in theouter wall between a third edge 58 and a fourth edge 60.

In a first embodiment of the collector, the partition wall can move inand out of the annularly shaped compartment either in a horizontaldirection or in a vertical direction. When the partition wall is in theannularly shaped compartment, it is next to the fourth edge.

In a second embodiment of the collector, the partition wall isstationary. In the second embodiment, the partition wall is next to thefourth edge.

In connection with FIG. 4 b is described a third embodiment of acollector 40′ in which the partition wall is replaced by a secondscraper.

In connection with FIG. 4 c is described a fourth embodiment of acollector 40″, which in addition to a first scraper and a partition wallalso includes a second scraper.

Returning to the first embodiment, the two solid food products that havebeen discharged to the collector are to be collected and discharged fromthe collector. To do this, the partition wall moves out of the annularlyshaped compartment and out of the way of the first scraper. Thepartition wall is connected to an actuator for moving the partition wallin and out of the annularly shaped compartment. The first scraper thenmoves from a position next to the third edge past the second opening andpast where the partition wall was and can begin to scrape the bottomwall of the annularly shaped compartment.

The first scraper has a first face 62 facing the scraping direction θ,in which the first scraper is moved around the annularly shapedcompartment.

The first scraper has a second scraping edge for scraping a bottomsurface of the annularly shaped compartment. The first scraper also hasa third scraping edge and a fourth scraping edge for scraping a surfaceof the inner wall and the outer wall, respectively.

As the first scraper scrapes the annularly shaped compartment, thepartition wall comes back into the annularly shaped compartment.

On its way around the annularly shaped compartment, the first scrapercollects the two solid food products and moves back to the position atthe third edge. This procedure constitutes a collection mode.

As the two solid food products have been collected, the first scraper atthe first edge forms a discharge compartment within the annularly shapedcompartment together with the partition wall, and a piston 56, i.e. thetwo solid food products have been moved to an area of the surface of thebottom wall adjacent the second opening—the area being marked with ahatched pattern, i.e. the discharge compartment is to be understood asan area of the collector. The area being bounded by the first scraper,the piston, and the partition wall.

The collected solid food products are then to be discharged from thedischarge compartment through the second opening. This is done bydisplacing the piston in a radial direction. The piston at the same timescrapes the bottom surface and side surfaces of the dischargecompartment so that as little sticky coating as possible is left in thedischarge compartment. This procedure constitutes a discharging mode.

The surface of the partition wall facing the discharge compartment is ina vertical plane, which is parallel with the direction of movement ofthe piston such that the piston can scrape the surface of the partitionwall facing the discharge compartment (when the collector is in thedischarging mode).

The first face faces the discharge compartment in the discharging modeand is in a plane, which is parallel with the direction of movement ofthe piston, i.e. to the radial direction, which the piston is movedalong—meaning that the radial direction does not cross the plane. Thepiston scrapes the first face during discharging of collected solid foodproducts in the discharging mode.

The first scraper has a thickness (measured in an angular direction),which increases going from the inner wall towards the outer wall.

The piston has a fifth, sixth and eight scraping edge for scraping thebottom wall, the partition wall, and the first face, respectively.

After the discharge compartment has been emptied, the collector is readyto receive a successive number of solid food products discharged from anumber of receptacles (receiving mode).

The collector according to the first embodiment cycles between thereceiving mode, the collection mode and the discharging mode. Thecollector according to the first embodiment is able to be in thereceiving mode and discharging mode at the same time.

In the second embodiment (where the partition wall is permanentlyfixated at the third edge), the first scraper rotates back and forth.

After the discharge compartment has been emptied (and before asuccessive number of solid food particles have been discharged to theannularly shaped compartment), the first scraper is rotated counter wisethe scraping direction away from the second edge, and over to a positionadjacent to the partition wall. Solid food products are then dischargedto the annularly shaped compartment, and the first scraper starts toscrape the annularly shaped compartment and collect solid food products(in a collection mode). Finally, the collector enters a discharging modeas described in connection with the first embodiment.

The collector according to the second embodiment cycles between thereceiving mode, the collection mode and the discharging mode. Thecollector according to the second embodiment is not able to be in thereceiving mode and discharging mode at the same time.

FIG. 4 b shows a perspective of a collector 40′ according to a thirdembodiment for collecting a number of solid food products, which havebeen emptied from a respective number of receptacles 20.

As mentioned in connection with FIG. 1 , the collector is located belowa multihead weigher, which may be such a multihead weigher described inconnection with FIG. 1 . The multihead weigher is not shown in FIG. 4 b.

Compared to the collector according to the first embodiment, thecollector according to the third embodiment has a second scraper insteadof a partition wall. The second scraper is identical to the firstscraper. Furthermore, each of the first and second scraper has abackside 64,68.

The second scraper has a ninth scraping edge for scraping a bottomsurface of the annularly shaped compartment. The second scraper also hasa tenth scraping edge and an eleventh scraping edge for scraping asurface of the inner wall and the outer wall, respectively.

In FIG. 4 b , the collector is in a state where the first scraper islocated next to the third edge with the first face facing the dischargecompartment and the first backside facing an opposite direction.

The second scraper is located next to the fourth edge with the secondbackside facing the discharge compartment and having a second facefacing the opposite direction (away from the discharge compartment).

The second backside is in a vertical plane, which is parallel with thedirection of movement of the piston such that the piston can scrape thesecond backside (when the collector is in the discharging mode).

The first scraper and the second scraper are interchangeable, i.e.during operation of the collector according to the third embodiment, thecollector alternates between scraping the annularly shaped compartmentwith the first scraper and the second scraper. The first scraper and thesecond scraper rotate exclusively in the scraping direction.

In order to collect the two solid food products that have beendischarged to the collector in FIG. 4 b , the second scraper rotates inthe scraping direction away from the position at the fourth edge.Concurrently, the first scraper rotates in the scraping direction awayfrom the position at the third edge, past the second opening and over toa position at the fourth edge where the second scraper was previouslypositioned before it started scraping the annularly shaped compartment.

The second scraper rotates all the way over to a position at the thirdedge. In doing so, the two solid food products will have been collectedand pushed into the discharge compartment. The two scrapers have nowchanged places compared to a previous discharging mode, i.e. the firstbackside is in a vertical plane, which is parallel with the direction ofmovement of the piston such that the piston can scrape the firstbackside, and the second face facing the discharge compartment. When thesecond face faces the discharge compartment, the second face is in avertical plane, which is parallel with the direction of movement of thepiston such that the piston can scrape the second face.

The collector according to the third embodiment cycles between thereceiving mode, the collection mode and the discharging mode. Thecollector according to the third embodiment is able to be in thereceiving mode and discharging mode at the same time.

FIG. 4 c shows a perspective of a collector 40″ according to a fourthembodiment for collecting a number of solid food products, which hasbeen emptied from a respective number of receptacles 20.

As mentioned in connection with FIG. 1 , the collector is located belowa multihead weigher, which may be such a multihead weigher described inconnection with FIG. 1 . The multihead weigher is not shown in FIG. 4 c.

Compared to the collector according to the first embodiment, thecollector according to the fourth embodiment additionally has a secondscraper. The second scraper is identical to the first scraper.

In FIG. 4 c , the collector is in a state where the first scraper islocated next to the third edge with the first face facing the dischargecompartment, the partition wall being in the annularly shapedcompartment, and the second scraper being adjacent to the partition wallon an opposite side of the partition wall than the first scraper.

The two solid food products that have been discharged to the collectorare to be collected and discharged from the collector. To do this, thesecond scraper rotates in the scraping direction away from the positionadjacent the partition wall. Concurrently, the partition wall moves outof the annularly shaped compartment and out of the way of the firstscraper. The first scraper then moves from a position next to the thirdedge past the second opening and past where the partition wall was. Thisis illustrated in FIG. 4 d , where an image of the partition wall isshown with a dotted circumference since it has been moved out of theannularly shaped compartment.

The partition wall is then moved back again into the annularly shapedcompartment, and the first scraper is positioned adjacent the partitionwall.

The second scraper rotates all the way over to a position at the thirdedge. In doing so, the two solid food products will have been collectedand pushed into the discharge compartment. The two scrapers have nowchanged places compared to a previous discharging mode, i.e. with thesecond scraper having a second face facing the discharge compartment—thesecond face being in a vertical plane, which is parallel with thedirection of movement of the piston such that the piston can scrape thesecond face.

Finally, the piston can discharge the collected solid food products outof the discharge compartment through the second opening, which isillustrated in FIG. 4 e.

The first scraper and the second scraper take turns scraping theannularly shaped compartment.

The following items describe further features according to the presentspecification.

1. A method of feeding and weighing a solid food product with a stickycoating, said method comprising:

providing a pool hopper, said pool hopper including

an inlet end for receiving said solid food product,

an outlet end for discharging said solid food product,

a feeder for conveying said solid food product from said inlet end tosaid outlet end,

introducing said solid food product into said inlet end,

conveying by means of said feeder said food products in a direction fromsaid inlet end towards said outlet end,

providing a receptacle for weighing said solid food product, and areceptacle support for supporting said receptacle, said receptacle beinglocated below said outlet end, said receptacle including

a first end wall and a second end wall opposite said first end wall,

a first axis extending through said first end wall and said second endwall,

a receptacle wall between said first end wall and said second end wall,

said receptacle wall having an inner surface constituting a circularcylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coinciding with saidfirst axis,

said inner surface extending angularly around said first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over a first angle, said first angle beingmore than 150° and less than 180°,

said receptacle further including an opening between said first edge andsaid second edge for receiving said solid food product when dischargedfrom said outlet end,

said receptacle being rotatably mounted to said receptacle support forrotating around said first axis,

in a first operational mode, discharging said solid food product fromsaid outlet end into said receptacle and weighing said solid foodproduct, said opening facing upwards in said first operational mode,

providing a scraper for scraping said inner surface,

said scraper having a scraper edge contacting said inner surface,

said scraper edge being proximate said first edge and stationary whensaid receptacle rotates around said first axis,

in a second operational mode rotating said receptacle such that saidsecond edge being rotated to said scraper edge while scraping said innersurface, and said solid food product being discharged from saidreceptacle.

2. A method according to item 1, comprising stopping said receptaclerotation when said second edge is at said scraping edge.

3. A method according to any of the preceding items, said receptaclehaving a shape of a hollow semi cylinder.

4. A method according to any of the preceding items, said bottom wallhaving a shape of a folded rectangle.

5. A method according to any of the preceding items, said scraper havinga U-shape for scraping said aid inner surface, said first end wall, andsaid second end wall.

6. A weigher head for feeding and weighing a solid food product with asticky coating, said weigher head comprising:

a pool hopper, said pool hopper including

an inlet end for receiving said solid food product,

an outlet end for discharging said solid food product,

a feeder for conveying said solid food product from said inlet end tosaid outlet end,

said weigher head comprising

a receptacle for weighing said solid food product, and a receptaclesupport for supporting said receptacle, said receptacle being locatedbelow said outlet end,

said receptacle including

a first end wall, and a second end wall opposite said first end wall,

a first axis extending through said first end wall and said second endwall,

a bottom wall between said first end wall and said second end wall,

said bottom wall having an inner surface constituting a circularcylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coinciding with saidfirst axis,

said inner surface extending angularly around said first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over a first angle, said first angle beingmore than 150° and less than 180°,

said receptacle further including an opening between said first edge andsaid second edge for receiving said solid food product when dischargedfrom said outlet end,

said receptacle being rotatable mounted to said receptacle support forrotating around said first axis,

said receptacle further including

a scraper for scraping said inner surface,

said scraper having a scraper edge contacting said inner surface,

said scraper edge being proximate said first edge and stationary whensaid receptacle rotates around said first axis,

said weigher head further comprising

an actuator for rotating said receptacle in an angular direction suchthat said second edge being rotated to said scraper edge, and said solidfood product being discharged from said receptacle.

7. A multihead weigher for use in packaging solid food products withsticky coatings, said multihead weigher comprising:

a receiving section for receiving solid food products,

a first weigher head according to item 6, and

a second weigher head according to item 6,

said first weigher head and said second weigher head being locatedangularly apart such that there is a rotational symmetry in a horizontalplane between said first weigher head and said second weigher head.

8. A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall, further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

-   -   in a first operational mode, receiving said solid food products        in said annularly shaped compartment from said multihead        weigher,    -   in a second operational mode scraping said annularly shaped        compartment by means of said first scraper in said angular        direction thereby collecting said received solid food products        into a first batch, and

introducing said first batch into said discharge compartment,

-   -   in a third operational mode scraping said discharge compartment        by means of said piston in said radial direction and discharging        said first batch through said discharge opening.

9. A method according to item 8, comprising cycling between said firstoperational mode, said second operational mode and said thirdoperational mode for collection of a successive number of solid foodproducts with sticky coatings into successive batches and dischargingsaid successive batches one at a time.

10. A method according to any of items 8 to 9, said partition wallhaving a first side facing said discharge compartment, said first sidehaving a surface in a vertical plane being parallel with said radialdirection.

11. A method according to any of items 8 to 10, comprising

providing a second scraper for scraping said annularly shapedcompartment in said angular direction,

alternately scraping said annularly shaped compartment by means of saidfirst scraper and said second scraper, respectively, for collecting saiddischarged solid food products into a batch, and introducing said batchinto a discharge compartment.

12. A method according to item 11, said second scraper having a secondface facing said discharge compartment in said third operational modewhen said second scraper having scraped said annularly shapedcompartment in said second operational mode.

13. A method according to any of items 11 to 12, comprising cyclingbetween said first operational mode, said second operational mode, andsaid third operational mode for collection of successive solid foodproducts with sticky coatings into successive batches and dischargingsaid successive batches.

14. A method according to any of items 8 to 13, comprising moving saidpartition wall to a position outside said annularly shaped compartmentin said first or second operational mode such that said partition wallis out of a path of either said first scraper or said second scraper.

15. A collector for collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said collector comprising:

an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facing upwards forreceiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

said collector further comprising

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shaped compartmentfor scraping said annularly shaped compartment and collecting saidreceived solid food products into a first batch, and introducing saidfirst batch into said discharge compartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment havinga discharge opening,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment for scraping saiddischarge compartment and discharging said first batch through saiddischarge opening.

16. A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a partition wall positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andseparating said annularly shaped compartment and said dischargecompartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

moving said first scraper to a position adjacent to said partition wallsuch that said first scraper being on an opposite side of said partitionwall with respect to said discharge compartment,

receiving said solid food products in said annularly shaped compartmentfrom said multihead weigher,

scraping said annularly shaped compartment by means of said firstscraper in said angular direction,

collecting said received solid food products into a first batch,

introducing said first batch into said discharge compartment,

scraping said discharge compartment by means of said piston in saidradial direction, and

discharging said first batch through said discharge opening.

17. A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a partition wall movable between a first position outside said annularlyshaped compartment and a second position in said annularly shapedcompartment for separating said annularly shaped compartment and saiddischarge compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

receiving said solid food products in said annularly shaped compartmentfrom said multihead weigher,

moving said partition wall to said first position,

scraping said annularly shaped compartment by means of said firstscraper in said angular direction,

moving said partition wall to said second position,

collecting said received solid food products into a first batch,

introducing said first batch into said discharge compartment,

scraping said discharge compartment by means of said piston in saidradial direction, and

discharging said first batch through said discharge opening.

18. A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a second scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in said angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

receiving said solid food products in said annularly shaped compartmentfrom said multihead weigher,

in a first operational mode, scraping said annularly shaped compartmentby means of said first scraper in said angular direction, therebycollecting said received solid food products into a first batch, andintroducing said first batch into said discharge compartment whilemoving said second scraper across said discharge compartment, or

in a second operational mode, scraping said annularly shaped compartmentby means of said second scraper in said angular direction, therebycollecting said received solid food products into a first batch, andintroducing said first batch into said discharge compartment whilemoving said first scraper across said discharge compartment,

scraping said discharge compartment by means of said piston in saidradial direction, and discharging said first batch through saiddischarge opening, and

alternating between said first operational mode and said secondoperational mode for collecting successive solid food products receivedin said annularly shaped compartment.

19. A method of collecting solid food products with sticky coatingsreceived from a multihead weigher, and discharging said collected solidfood products, said method comprising:

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food products,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a second scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in said angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a partition wall movable between a first position outside said annularlyshaped compartment and a second position in said annularly shapedcompartment for separating said annularly shaped compartment and saiddischarge compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

said method further comprising

receiving said solid food products in said annularly shaped compartmentfrom said multihead weigher,

moving said partition wall to said position outside said annularlyshaped compartment,

in a first operational mode, scraping said annularly shaped compartmentby means of said first scraper in said angular direction, therebycollecting said received solid food products into a first batch, andintroducing said first batch into said discharge compartment whilemoving said second scraper across said discharge compartment, and movingsaid partition wall to said second position,

or

in a second operational mode, scraping said annularly shaped compartmentby means of said second scraper in said angular direction, therebycollecting said received solid food products into a first batch, andintroducing said first batch into said discharge compartment whilemoving said first scraper across said discharge compartment, and movingsaid partition wall to said second position,

scraping said discharge compartment by means of said piston in saidradial direction, and discharging said first batch through saiddischarge opening, and

alternating between said first operational mode and said secondoperational mode for collecting successive solid food products receivedin said annularly shaped compartment.

20. A method of feeding, weighing and collecting solid food product witha sticky coating, said method comprising:

providing a pool hopper, said pool hopper including

an inlet end for receiving said solid food product,

an outlet end for discharging said solid food product,

a feeder for conveying said solid food product from said inlet end tosaid outlet end,

introducing said solid food product into said inlet end,

conveying by means of said feeder said food products in a direction fromsaid inlet end towards said outlet end,

providing a receptacle for weighing said solid food product, and areceptacle support for supporting said receptacle, said receptacle beinglocated below said outlet end, said receptacle including

a first end wall and a second end wall opposite said first end wall,

a first axis extending through said first end wall and said second endwall,

a receptacle wall between said first end wall and said second end wall,

said receptacle wall having an inner surface constituting a circularcylindrical surface having its axis of rotation coinciding with saidfirst axis,

said inner surface extending angularly around said first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over a first angle, said first angle beingmore than 150° and less than 180°,

said receptacle further including an opening between said first edge andsaid second edge for receiving said solid food product when dischargedfrom said outlet end,

said receptacle being rotatably mounted to said receptacle support forrotating around said first axis,

discharging said solid food product from said outlet end into saidreceptacle and weighing said solid food product, said opening facingupwards in said first operational mode,

providing a scraper for scraping said inner surface,

said scraper having a scraper edge contacting said inner surface,

said scraper edge being proximate said first edge and stationary whensaid receptacle rotates

around said first axis,

rotating said receptacle such that said second edge being rotated tosaid scraper edge while scraping said inner surface, and said solid foodproduct being discharged from said receptacle,

providing an annularly shaped compartment with a first opening facingupwards for receiving said solid food product,

said first opening delimited by two concentric side walls extendingupwards from a bottom wall,

receiving said solid food product in said annularly shaped compartment,

further providing

a first scraper positioned in said annularly shaped compartment andmovable in an angular direction within said annularly shapedcompartment,

a discharge compartment within said annularly shaped compartment,

a piston positioned in said discharge compartment and movable in aradial direction within said discharge compartment,

said discharge compartment having a discharge opening,

scraping said annularly shaped compartment by means of said firstscraper in said angular direction, thereby collecting said receivedsolid food product into a first batch, and introducing said first batchinto said discharge compartment,

scraping said discharge compartment by means of said piston in saidradial direction and discharging said first batch through said dischargeopening.

In the following is given a list of reference signs that are used in thedescription and the drawings referred to in the description.

-   10 Multihead weigher-   12 Receiving section-   14 Inlet end-   16 Feeder-   18 Outlet end-   20 Receptacle-   22 First end wall-   24 Second end wall-   26 Receptacle wall-   28 Receptacle scraper-   32 First edge-   34 Second edge-   36 First axis-   ϕ First angle-   40 Collector-   42 Bottom wall-   44 Inner wall-   46 Outer wall-   48 First scraper-   50 Second scraper-   52 Partition wall-   54 Solid food product-   56 Piston-   58 Third edge-   60 Fourth edge-   62 First face-   64 First backside-   66 Second face-   68 Second backside-   θ Scraping direction

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of feeding, weighing, and collectingsolid food products with sticky coatings, the method comprising: (a)providing a pool hopper including an inlet end configured for receivingthe solid food products, an outlet end configured for discharging thesolid food products, and a feeder configured for conveying the solidfood products from the inlet end to the outlet end; (b) introducing thesolid food products into the inlet end of the pool hopper; (c) conveyingthe solid food products by the feeder in a direction from the inlet endof the pool hopper towards the outlet end of the pool hopper; (d)providing a plurality of receptacles arranged in an annularconfiguration at the outlet end of the pool hopper and configured forreceiving the solid food products discharged from the outlet end of thepool hopper, each of the receptacles comprising: (1) a first end walland a second end wall opposite the first end wall, wherein a first axisis defined extending through the first end wall and the second end wall,the receptacle being rotatable around the first axis; (2) a receptaclewall located between the first end wall and the second end wall, thereceptacle wall having an inner surface defining a semi-circularcylindrical surface having an axis of rotation coinciding with the firstaxis, the inner surface extending angularly around the first axis from afirst edge to a second edge over an angle of more than 150° and lessthan 180°; and (3) an opening between the first edge and the second edgeconfigured for receiving the solid food products discharged from theoutlet end of the pool hopper; (e) in a first operational mode: (1)discharging the solid food products from the outlet end of the poolhopper into each of the plurality of receptacles through the opening ineach of the receptacles; and (2) weighing the solid food productsdischarged into each of the plurality of receptacles; (f) providing areceptacle scraper operable in each of the plurality of receptacles forscraping the inner surface of the receptacle, each of the receptaclescrapers having a scraper edge contacting the inner surface of thereceptacle proximate the first edge of the receptacle, each of thereceptacle scrapers being configured to remain stationary when thereceptacle rotates around the first axis; (g) providing an annularcollector below the plurality of receptacles, the annular collectorcomprising an annular bottom surface defined between a pair ofconcentric vertical walls arranged around a second axis coinciding withthe first axis, the annular collector having an upward-facing openingpositioned to receive the solid food products from the plurality ofreceptacles, wherein a collector scraper is positioned in the annularcollector and is rotatable around the second axis within the annularcollector compartment for scraping the bottom surface; and (h) in asecond operational mode, rotating each of the receptacles such that thesecond edge is rotated relative to the scraper edge of the associatedone of the receptacle scrapers while the scraper edge is scraping theinner surface of the associated one of the receptacles so as todischarge the solid food products from each of the plurality ofreceptacles into the annular collector through the upwardly-facingopening, and collecting the solid food products into a batch by scrapingsaid bottom surface by rotating the collector scraper within the annularcollector around the second axis.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising (i) stopping the rotation of each of the receptacles when thesecond edge is at the scraping edge of the associated one of thereceptacle scrapers.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein, in the secondoperational mode, the scraper edge of each of the receptacle scrapersscrapes the inner surface, the first end wall, and the second end of thereceptacle, with the rotation of the second edge of each of thereceptacles relative to the scraper edge of the receptacle scraper. 4.Apparatus for feeding, weighing, and collecting solid food products withsticky coatings, the apparatus comprising: a pool hopper including aninlet end configured for receiving the solid food products and an outletend configured for discharging the solid food products; a feederconfigured for conveying the solid food products from the inlet end ofthe pool hopper to the outlet end of the pool hopper; a plurality ofreceptacles mounted in an annular configuration around the outlet end ofthe pool hopper and configured to receive the solid food productsdischarged from the outlet end of the pool hopper, each of thereceptacles including a first end wall, a second end wall opposite thefirst end wall, and a receptacle wall between the first end wall and thesecond end wall, wherein a first axis is defined extending through thefirst end wall and the second end wall, wherein the receptacle wall hasan inner surface defining a semi-circular cylindrical surface having anaxis of rotation coinciding with the first axis, wherein the innersurface extends angularly around the first axis from a first edge to asecond edge over an angle of more than 150° and less than 180°, each ofthe receptacles further including an opening between the first edge andthe second edge and configured for receiving the solid food productsdischarged from the outlet end, and wherein the plurality of receptaclesis rotatable around the first axis; a receptacle scraper in each of theplurality of receptacles, each of the receptacle scrapers being operablein an associated one of the receptacles, each of the receptacle scrapershaving a scraper edge contacting the inner surface of the associated oneof the receptacles proximate the first edge of the associated one of thereceptacles, each of the receptacle scrapers being configured to remainstationary when the associated one of the receptacles rotates around thefirst axis; an actuator operable for rotating the plurality ofreceptacles in an angular direction such that the second edge of each ofthe receptacles is rotated relative to the scraper edge of theassociated one of the receptacle scrapers as the solid food products arereceived from the outlet end of the pool hopper by the each of theplurality of receptacles, whereby the solid food products are dischargedfrom each of the plurality receptacles by the associated one of thereceptacle scrapers; an annular collector below the plurality ofreceptacles, the annular collector comprising an annular bottom surfacedefined between a pair of concentric vertical walls arranged around asecond axis coinciding with the first axis, the annular collector havingan upward-facing opening positioned to receive the solid food productsfrom the plurality of receptacles; and a collector scraper positionedwithin the annular collector so as to be in contact with the bottomsurface, the collector scraper being rotatable around the second axis soas to scrape the bottom surface.